It's the #Racism and the #Poverty #Stupid #hcsboe

Huntsville City Schools March 11, 1963 -March 11, 2015  (Huntsville Times file)

According to the powers that be , Low-income (code for black/brown) children know 30 million fewer words and Huntsville City Schools plans to fix that by spying on them.  I kid you not.

This past Thursday, the Huntsville City Schools Board of Education voted unanimously and without asking any questions to approve a $93,500.00 contract with the LENA Foundation purportedly to help close the 30 million word gap that exists between children born above and below the poverty line.

Here is what we know we don't know about the latest spy, I mean LENA program.  

1. The recorder will likely record statements like, “You look like your daddy,” or other “not pleasant” conversations despite Ms. McCaulley’s and Mr. Davison’s assurances that it will only record, “wah, wah, wah” like Charlie Brown’s teacher. LENA’s website makes this clear. They will be recording children.
2. The district will target low-income families and entice them to record their conversations with “diapers, formula” and a likely guaranteed spot in the Pre-K program after the child turns 3 or 4.
3. The district believes that parents (at least poor parents) don’t know how to talk to their children.
4. The district believes that sending a text message to parents reminding them to talk to their children and bribing parents to attend a weekly and then monthly meeting will fix this problem.
5. The district believes that it is completely acceptable to turn infants into data points that are available for review by any “stakeholder” at any time day or night via a smartphone.
6. The board members are more interested in laughing at Dr. Wardynski’s attempts at humor than they are actually doing research to see if the things he is recommending actually have any basis in reality.

This school board ,and their media enablers, have demonstrated they are not willing to admit there is a problem, much less less solve it.  They think all they have to do is throw some money at some clueless consultants, blame the victims (parents,child, community), and it will go away.  Not.

It's the Racism. 

 Racism, and its ability to increase the odds that a pregnant mother will deliver her child early, can kill. There is also evidence that racism can alter the capacity for a child to learn and distorts lives in ways that can reproduce inequality, poverty and long-term disadvantage, the studies found.

 Kramer’s findings also suggest that since poor minority families often concentrate in sections of a city and therefore send their children to the same set of the nation’s increasingly segregated (by both race and class) schools, children struggling to learn due to a preterm birth aren’t evenly disbursed. Some schools are likely serving large numbers while others, in wealthier communities and those serving mostly white students, may be serving few to none.

The reason low income children know 30 million fewer words is because their parents are products of the Huntsville City School System.  The reason their parents are low income is because their parents are products of the Huntsville City School system.   It's a vicious cycle.

Maybe if HCS invested in children, instead of Lap Tops and Ipads, a  Director of Community Engagement,   a Political Strategist,  an off the books Spy program,  Attorneys fees, and would stop replacing certified teachers with Teach for America, we could get to the root of the problem and break the cycle of poverty and ignorance instead of perpetuating it. 

"It's easy as A-B-C, 1-2-3"
Step 1  Admit you have a problem
Step 2  Identify the problem
Step 3  Solve the problem

RedEye

"Eye" think current city council member, and former school board member, Dr. Jeannie Robinson "mispoke" #hcsboe

According to Waff48 Vincent Crivelli's live Twitter feed of public comments made at the desegregation hearing, current city council member, and former school board member, Dr. Jeannie Robinson had this to say about Huntsville City Schools Superintendent, Casey Wardynski:

MORE: She say Superintendent Wardynski has done more for African American students that previous superintendents.
— Vincent Crivelli (@VincentCrivelli) March 12, 2015

Words matter.  I think Robinson meant to say Superintendent Wardynski has done more TO African American students than previous superintendents.

What has Wardynski done TO African American students you ask?  Let me count the things.

Let's start with requiring African American students wear uniforms so school administrators would be able distinguish them from gang members.

Let's move on spying on African American students and expelling them for things  posted on social media.  Then there is the documented fact African American students are suspended and expelled more than white students.

Oh, and I can't forget closing the Alternative School and giving poor/black and brown students  the option of expulsion, a private  "Therapeutic" facility .

How about  trained certified teachers being replaced with Teach for America teachers in predominately African American schools,  and replacing text books with laptops and IPads without ensuring African American students had access to the Internet?  

Last but not least, closing, illegally renaming, and locating schools less than half a mile from an active rock quarry, to remove them from the list of failing schools.

I would say Casey Wardynski has done more TO African American students than FOR African American students.

What say you?

Huntsville City Schools character education words for May; cheerfulness, fairness, and kindness, Oh My!

NAACP President Alice Sams speaks for the NAACP Coalition as she addresses the Huntsville City Schools crisis at a press conference in front of the Annie C. Merts Center February 15,2011.

Superintendent Dr. Casey Wardynski is doing the job he was hired to do.

Casey you have to break the mold and prove you're not afraid of minorities, democrats, liberals, aclu (sic) types and the entire entitlement crowd! Do that, and you'll be doing the job you were hired to do! Oh yeah, not to mention striking down all racial transfers. And that includes allowing not allowing whites to racially transfer either. If you don't like where your child goes to school, move to where they can be zoned into a school of your preference, that's what I had to do!

If there is anything a certain segment of the Huntsville community despises more than  being under a court ordered desegregation plan it's them there  Majority to Minority transfers.

To enhance desegregation, the Huntsville City school district permits a student to transfer from a school where his/her race is in a majority to a school where his/her race is in a minority if space is available. This is called a Majority to Minority transfer.

There is the perception of some (not to confused with all) south Huntsville parents and officials, black students from north Huntsville will lower the standardized test scores at their neighborhood schools, thereby lowering their property values.  The part about test scores lowering property values is true.  For verification all you have to do is compare north vs south Huntsville property values. While parents worry about property values, south Huntsville principals worry white  students will flee when/if black enrollment increases.

It's all about race, income, and geography. 

At poor schools, test scores are lower. "That does not mean these kids are dumber," said Dr. Mary Ruth Yates, Huntsville's assistant superintendent.Achievement tests measure what a child has already learned, not how much a child can learn. Some kids receive less teaching at home, Yates said. They reach school less prepared to learn.What they don't learn often puts limits on what they can eventually earn."If we close the achievement gap, then you have equal opportunity to get jobs, to buy property," she said.School leaders shouldn't give up on integration, Yates said, or the cycle on inequalities will continue."As long as we have Grissom and Johnson," she said, "we can't really say we've done all we can do."

"If we close the achievement gap,then you have equal opportunity to get jobs,to buy property."  Instead of focusing on solutions this board would rather focus on ways to strike down all racial transfers and trap disadvantaged students in the schools they fail to serve.

Using the logic of the Huntsville City Board of Education, University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban should only use his youngest, most inexperienced players when his team plays a Top Ten opponent.
 Anyone who pays attention to education knows that the most persistently poor-performing schools are those in impoverished neighborhoods.  For example, there are nine schools in the Huntsville system where more than 90 percent of students receive free-reduced lunches.  According to an analysis by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, none of these schools have reading and math scores where all grades (three through eight) are equal to or above state average.

After patting themselves on the back and taking credit for a federally funded summer feeding program  at last nights Work Session, the superintendent recommended the board approve a Revision of Policy 6.3.1 a- Majority to Minority Transfer.

Per  the Huntsville City Schools website:   The majority to minority transfer window, originally scheduled for May 1-May 31 has been postponed.  The new application window date will be communicated by Student Support Services.  Note, it doesn't say when or how this information will be communicated by SSS.  My guess is they are waiting to see if the revision will be approved.

Students will be granted Majority to Minority transfers through a lottery system when there are more requests for Majority to Minority transfers than space available at the requested school.

There are no specifics as to how said lottery will work,  but it will be done via computer, as well as the initial application for the transfer.  So, instead of parents being awarded a transfer based on first come (date) first served basis with a paper trail,  a computer program will perform this function.  Usually when there is a change in policy it's because of complaints or problems with the implementation. When asked why the policy was changing the superintendent said it was to keep parents from having to come the Merts Center and stand in line, or something to that effect.  To my knowledge parents aren't complaining about coming down standing in line at the Merts center, they are complaining because their transfers are being denied, and they aren't being notified until just before school starts when it's too late to appeal or make other arrangements. This new digital process sounds like it's going to make it harder for parents to apply for, and be granted, a majority to minority transfers, not to mention the lack of transparency.

What parents are complaining about is not being allowed to speak at school board meetings, but I don't see them changing the policy that  says all questions have to be written down and read by the Director of Community Engagement.  But I digress.

"What we want" is equal access to a quality public education for all children, regardless of their race, address, or class.  If all schools were created equal there would be no need or demand for majority/minority transfers to enhance desegregation.   Para quoting the late, great, James Brown, we don't want nobody to give us nothing,  stop standing in the school house door so we can get it ourselves.

A Second Open Letter to Mayor Tommy Battle

Madison County Commissioner Phil Riddick, second from right, presents Mayor Tommy Battle with checks totaling $60,000 for construction of a new city park on Chaney Thompson Road in south Huntsville. Looking on are city Parks Manager Steve Ivey and Recreation Director Greg Patterson. (Steve Doyle | sdoyle@al.com)

Dear Mayor Battle,
It's me RedEye again. We haven't talked since you held a town hall meeting on the neglected side of town (aka District 1), to ask the taxpayers who have the least to give more, and support a 1% sales tax increase that will benefit the taxpayers who have the most. But I digress

I am writing you this time to talk about  public education in general, specifically the Huntsville City Schools.  During a recent press conference you said  you want to continue an ongoing push for better roads, new industry, a stronger city school system and "more inclusive" municipal government.  Oh really?

At the  recent HCS BOE rezoning meeting, which excluded comments from the public,  you agreed with superintendent Casey Wardynski   it’s time to be recognized as a progressive city that can make color-blind decisions without the federal government scrutinizing every plan to build a new school. 

You say you want Huntsville to be recognized as a stronger "more inclusive" municipal government but your actions, specifically your support of the superintendent, don't match (for lack of a better word) your words.

Do you support nepotism, favoritism, and intimidation to control schools, and parents not being allowed to speak at public meetings?

Do you support the BOE violating their own rules?

Do you support the BOE refusing to meet with Huntsville's black community leaders? The answer to that must be yes, because it is  my understanding you recently held a meeting with local black clergy and excluded black elected officials.  Is that that the kind of "more inclusive" municipal government you're talking about?

Do you support the desires of the citizens of north Huntsville not to change the name of J.O. Johnson High School to Mae Jemison being ignored?  Were you one of the elected officials who told Casey Wardynski it would be a gargantuan mistake to change the name of a school named after a confederate war general?

Do you support staffing under achieving schools who need the best and the brightest with non certified teachers?

Do you support re-segregating Huntsville City Schools?  I have to ask because at the recent MLK Unity Breakfast you noted  the two schools with the highest test scores were also the most diverse schools. This comment received a huge round of applause from the audience (except those of us who knew better). Well Duh! New Century Technology High School, and The Academy for Academics and Arts, are magnet schools, that's why they are diverse, and also why they have the highest test scores. Which makes me wonder if you are aware the WARdynski plan you said you support will end the majority to minority transfers which increase diversity, and will force parents to send their children to low achieving neighborhood schools? 

Lastly,  and most importantly to, do you support the construction of the new J.O. Johnson High School .06 miles from an active rock quarry, and, would you want your children to attend such a school?  Would you want your family members to work in such an environment?  Are you aware the president of the city council was among the vocal opposition to a rock quarry being located 2 miles from schools in Madison County, citing air quality concerns?

Need I remind you again north Huntsville residents are taxpayers that voted for you twice because you promised we would not be marginalized and our concerns minimized.  North Huntsville taxpayers aren't asking for special treatment, nor are we asking for the government to take care of us.  Para phrasing the words of the late great James Brown, we don't want nobody to give us nothing, open up the door and we'll get it ourselves.

We didn't ask for a new high school.  We don't want to change the name of the school,  and we don't want the new school we didn't ask for, want, or need,  to be located .06 miles from an active rock quarry.  You might as well build the new school next to an industrial park.

Sincerely,
RedEye

An open Letter to Mayor Tommy Battle

Bob Gathany / The Huntsville Times Huntsville Mayor Tommy

Dear Mayor Battle,

It's me, RedEye.  How's that "One City, One Vision "  thingy working out for you?  The reason I ask is because it appears you have a new Battle Plan, one that doesn't include residents/taxpayers who live/work/play in north Huntsville.  Or, should I say, those who try to live/work/ play in north Huntsville?  In case you haven't notice, the quality of life is on the decline in north Huntsville, but I digress, the purpose of this letter is to address the J.O.Johnson name change controversy,  which I know you are aware of, because representatives from your office attend community meetings, marches, and school board meetings.

During the Huntsville City Council meeting Councilman Richard Showers  said the following in regards to the J.O. Johnson issue (emphasis mine):

7:30 pm. During council comments, Richard Showers said Johnson High School supporters opposed to changing the school's name were treated "less than a dog" at last week's Huntsville Board of Education meeting.
Despite a petition signed by about 1,500 people wanting to keep the Johnson name on a new northwest Huntsville high school on Pulaski Pike, the school board voted to name the new school for Mae Carol Jemison. A Decatur-born astronaut, Jemison was the first black woman to travel in space.
Johnson supporters "were talked down to (at the school board meeting) as if they were animals," said Showers. "I couldn't believe this was happening in this city."

Former J.O.Johnson assistant band director Reggie Hill said changing the name of a failing school does not address the underlying problems. "Are we really going to fix any issues by simply changing the name of the school?" said Hill.

Michelle Watkins said new and expanding industry will continue to avoid northwest Huntsville as long as there are "substandard" public schools. "A name change does nothing if the stigma remains the same and the resources continue to be focused on other areas," .


Casey Brown, president of the J.O. Johnson Alumni Association, said the school board "actively ignored" the wishes of 1,500 people who signed a petition opposing the name change.
"If we're One Huntsville, how come no one in northwest Huntsville has their vote respected or their word respected?" He then asked where you stood  on the Johnson name change?

And you, Mayor Battle,  said this:

While not addressing the name change directly, Battle said he believes Superintendent Casey Wardynski is attacking the problem of "disparate" schools through better technology and an aggressive student assessment program. Some struggling schools in northwest Huntsville have posted 25 percent gains in reading and math, he said.

Well, I guess it depends on what your definition of attacking the problem of "disparate" schools IS.  If you believe  Wardynksi  is attacking the problem of "disparate" schools by replacing books with laptops/IPads (without parental input), replacing certified teachers with Teach for America Teachers (in north Huntsville Schools), and testing instead of teaching, I have some swamp land in Arizona to sell you.

"We have to have good schools; we have to have schools that are equal," said Battle.

 In order to have good schools, all schools have to be good.  In order to have schools that are equal, all schools have to be treated equally. The J.O. Johnson name change issue is a prime example of separate and unequal treatment.  Case in point, Lee High School.

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Students marched from the current Lee High School to the new one this morning in reaction to a proposal to eliminate the Lee High School name when a newly constructed replacement school opens in the fall.
Superintendent Dr. Casey Wardynski showed up at the protest and talked to the students, convincing them to go back to class and promised no repercussions for the walk-out.
"These young people obviously have an opinion," Wardynski said. "I think the way that young folks express themselves is important, but there is a safer way to do it."
The 250 or so students walked out of the current Lee building at about 8:05 a.m. and around to the front of the new building. They stopped there and started chanting "Lee High School!", "Save Our School!" and "Show your L!"
They went back to class after Wardynski walked into the middle of them and told them he appreciated their opinion and would not punish them for protesting.

Compare and contrast the treatment of Lee High protesters with the treatment of J.O.Johnson protesters.

First, they stacked the agenda with long presentations, and seats were saved for teachers/employees prior to the public being allowed to enter the board room.  Second, citizens were told to write down their questions on cards to be given to the board members and they would decide which ones were to be read or answered.  Citizens were not allowed to ask questions of the BOE.  A handpicked Pastor was "asked" and allowed to speak, however Reverend Mark Johnson, nephew of J.O. Johnson left because the BOE kept changing the rules and he thought he wasn't going to be allowed to speak.

Compare and contrast the outcome of the Lee High School name change controversy with the outcome the J.O.Johnson name change controversy.(Emphasis mine)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Dr. Casey Wardynski, Huntsville's new superintendent, backtracked on his proposal to change the name of Lee High School Thursday night following a day of protest by students, alumni and parents.
Lee High School students carried signs boasting "General pride" and beseeching the school board to keep the school's name as board members walked into their meeting. It was the second, albeit smaller, protest of the day as students and alumni expressed anger over Wardynski's proposal.
Wardynski was considering a name change in conjunction with moving both Lee and New Century Technology High School students into the new facility.
Initial reports indicated that hundreds of students might converge on the Annie C. Merts Center. The protest outside fizzled to about a dozen students, though parents and students packed into the board room for the meeting.
In the end, Wardynski heeded the opinions of the students -- and the school board -- and announced that the words "Lee High School" would be added back to the new school's facade, where they had been removed earlier in the day. Audience members in the board room and in the hallways of the Merts Center cheered.

So why is Lee allowed to keep it's name after protest but J.O.Johnson is not?  Here's why:

 "There's been any number of councilman and officials call to inform me that I've made a gargantuan mistake," Wardynski said, to applause from the crowd that made him smile. "Thank you for acknowledging my mistake."
Wardynski said that while the objectives of the new school is to increase student achievement and give students a bright future, another objective is to be a good neighbor.

Oh really? A number of council and officials called to inform Wardynski it would be a gargantuan mistake to change Lee High Schools name, but the same council (with the exception of  Showers) and officials are quiet as a mouse when it comes to J.O.Johnson.  Evidently it's not important to a "good neighbor" to ALL anymore.

Mayor Battle, north Huntsville residents voted for you in record numbers both times because you promised there would be One Huntsville. Now don't get me wrong, north Huntsville taxpayers aren't asking for special treatment, nor are we asking city government to take care of us, we are asking for equal treatment because we pay taxes and vote too.  We love the city of Huntsville, but we have to ask, does the city of Huntsville love us?

And no, a meeting to discuss renaming Church street after Rev. Joseph Lowery is not going to appease us, if you can discuss renaming Church Street you can discuss renaming J.O.Johnson High School.  Now if you want to discuss renaming Pulaski Pike or Meridian Street after Rev.Joseph Lowery......

Sincerely,
RedEye

Huntsville Sitty Schools Redux

 

The December 5, 2012 editions of The Huntsville Times and Al.com were just full of news and information they wanted us to know about the Huntsville City School system, beginning with the above the fold, banner headline on page 3A announcing another sale of a school building to developers, despite residents concerns about what's in store for the property.

 Bob Broadway, owner of The Broadway Group, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. School board member David Blair, whose District 2 included East Clinton before the school was closed in 2010, declined to detail what he had been told about Broadway's potential plans.

Turning to page 4A, there was a 3 column, above the fold, black and white photo of Huntsville City Schools Superintendent Dr. Casey Wardynski with a female student looking at her government issued IPad,  announcing he was one of four education leaders in America named "Tech Leader of the Year" by Tech and Leaning magazine for his implementation of digital curriculum. 

 A profile of Wardynski on the magazine's website states that Huntsville City Schools "completely transformed education for its nearly 25,000 students" in just one year under the direction of the retired Army colonel, who is described as a "brave and visionary" leader. 

Also on page 4A, to the right of the above mentioned article, was the announcement the Huntsville school district had another legal victory last week as Madison County Circuit  Court Judge Jim Smith upheld  the legal lynching of  Huntsville City School Teacher Shirley Taylor.

Taylor, a third-grade teacher, was fired by Superintendent Casey Wardynski after she was accused of mistreating students. Documents submitted as evidence in the district's case show that she was reprimanded by University Place's former principal, Towana Davis, for her behavior toward the children.
Davis accused Taylor of creating a "hostile learning environment for students," in part by telling one boy in November 2011 that "he wasn't going to amount to anything or make anything of himself." The boy's mother wrote a letter to the school to complain after her son came home in tears.

Are you kidding me?  This is one of those rare occasions when I agree with Radio Boy,  But, is it possible that she was just trying to motivate?  I know from first hand experience that complaining to school officials in person or in writing about teachers creating a hostile learning environment didn't get the teacher fired.  Surely there was more. This is the real kicker.

Smith's ruling, which overturns the decision of the administrative law judge, points to the language of the Students First Act, which went into effect in July 2011.
"Notice by certified mail or private mail carrier shall be deemed received by the employee and complete for purposes of this chapter two business days after the notice is deposited for certified delivery in the United States mail or placed with a private mail carrier for next business day delivery," the law reads.
Nothing in the statute requires the board provide evidence of delivery, Smith ruled.

Say what?  The statue requires notice by certified mail, but they don't have to provide evidence of delivery of the certified mail?  Why didn't they hand deliver this letter like they hand delivered her termination letter?

She first learned she had been fired the following day, when a notice of the board's decision was hand-delivered to her at University Place.

When it is unfavorable to a minority employee district officials are quick to dispense what they perceive as justice.  The same is true for students.   Why are they so unwilling to give due process to Shirley Taylor?

An administrative law judge agreed with Taylor, ruling in August that district officials had violated the requirements of the Students First Act by not ensuring Taylor received her notice of Superintendent Casey Wardynski’s intentions. Court documents indicate that the U.S. Postal Service did not deliver the document to Taylor’s Madison address because it had incorrect information that she had moved and left no forwarding address.

According to AL.com's  Crystal Bonvillian  Ms. Taylor actually did not move. She was living at the same home she'd lived at for several years. The Postal Service's information about a move was incorrect. 

Again, I wish I could say I am surprised the judge ruled in favor of the School District, my question is, with all the real estate deals, and digital learning initiatives, Teach for America Teachers replacing trained certified, educators, and privatized child abuse .........   "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"

Read on, read often.

RedEye's Tuesday Talking Points

Red State America:  The Roviat Union

One of the only campaign predictions the Talking TeeVee Pundit Heads got right (pun intended) was that the gop infused, media enabled, Tea Party would maintain their majority in the House of Representatives thanks to  gerrymandering.  You see,  TeaPublican controlled state legislatures redrew the voting districts to dilute the democratic vote, because they know it's the only way they can lie and   win.  Yep, gerrymandering is OK as long as it benefits republicans.  No matter how hard we try we can't vote them out of office.  Ain't that a dip?

 “Although the Republicans won 55% of the House seats, they received less than half of the votes for members of the House of Representatives. Indeed, more than half-a-million more Americans voted for Democratic House candidates than for Republicans House candidates. There was no split-decision. The Democrats won both the presidential election and the House election. But the Republicans won 55% of the seats in the House.
This seems crazy. How could this be?
This answer lies in the 2010 election, in which Republicans won control of a substantial majority of state governments. They then used that power to re-draw congressional district lines in such a way as to maximize the Republican outcome in the 2012 House election.”

Speaking of bending the rules to their benefit, Republicans threaten to shut down the senate over majority rule.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) is considering banning the filibuster, which  the republican minority used in their failed attempt to make President Barack Obama a one term President,  however they were successful in keeping him from governing.  Don't just threaten to ban the filibuster, Harry, make my day and just do it!

Republicans, who are responsible for the worst abuses of Senate procedures, have threatened to "shut down the Senate" in retaliation. There's just one problem with this threat: they've already been doing that for four years. How will we be able to tell the difference?

The school to prison pipeline is alive and well thanks to privation  and the Obama enabled  Oligarch's plan to replace teachers with computers, regardless of what parents/tax payers have to say.

Tonight, Mr. Michael Robbins “a senior advisor for the U.S. Department of Education” is meeting with a group of “parents” to hear real, honest, and heartfelt opinions about the digital transition. Didn’t hear about this? Of course not. The Huntsville Council of PTAs decided that the only way to get these real, honest, and heartfelt opinions about the digital transition is to have the meeting behind closed doors, out of the sight of the public and that the only parents who are deemed worthy of having a real, honest, and heartfelt opinion about the computers in this town are PTA Presidents. So tonight from 6-8pm at Grissom High, Mr. Robbins will meet with the PTA Presidents and whomever else the Huntsville Council of PTAs deems worthy of attending so that he can hear from people who are not likely to rock the boat by telling him the truth.

Will President Obama pick up the pace on pardons in his second term, or, are pardons only for Turkeys?

However, a major stumbling block is the pardons process itself.  Presidents rely on recommendations from the Office of the Pardon Attorney, which is a part of the Department of Justice.
The problem is that these days, the office recommends to reject the vast majority of applicants.  Further, the process is rife with injustice, as applicants with congressional support are three times more likely to receive a pardon, whites four times more likely to be pardoned than applicants of color, and blacks the least likely to catch a break from the president.

Today's Must Reads


A Cautionary Tale of Infiltration, Betrayal and the Activist Community

Are you the problem?

Huntspatch Sitty School Daze

Ten, count them, ten, Huntsville City School failed to meet AYP (Average Yearly Progress) last year, and once again the district isn't prepared to meet IEP's,  but that's OK, the inept  black Superintendent was replaced with a competent white one.

So what is the "competent" white superintendent doing to improve student achievement? Let me count ten ways.

1. Sign a $21.9 million dollar contract to convert the district from printed books to a digital textbook learning system.  

2. Transfer, fire or run off,  trained, certified, teachers and principals and replace them with Teach for America Teachers in the low achieving schools, and Principals from out of state.

3. Close down the Alternative School and send students to a private, residential, drug treatment program.

4.  Double the legal fees for the district.

5.  Balance the budget on the backs of special education students.

6.  Hire cronies as consults while laying off teachers and support personnel.

7.  Take credit for the inept black superintendent's achievements.

8.  Refuse to answer tax payers questions or address their concerns.

9.  Intimidate the public.

10.  Under estimate the cost of contracts, again.

And what did the competent white superintendent who replaced the inept black superintendent say when asked about the ten schools that failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress?

"Adequate doesn't sound very high to me."

Oh well, I guess it depends on what your definition of adequate and competent IS.

Sigh

What a difference a lone African American school board member makes

Huntsville City School Board President, Laurie McCaulley

Current school board President Laurie McCaulley was elected in 2008 to fill the seat of the late Dr. James I. Dawson, representing District 1 Schools. McCaulley has the distinction of being the first African-American female elected to the HCS board of education, and the lone African American member.  McCaulley's term expires this year, and she is running for re-election against Pat King, who she narrowly defeated in 2008.

Dr. Dawson was known as a fighter for justice and equality.  He boasted of being "Unbought and Unbossed" by special interest.  Unfortunately for the students and parents in District 1, I can't say the same about his successor, who goes along to get along, often at the expense of the people she was elected to represent.

Dr. Dawson would never have allowed non-certified Teach for America teachers to replace certified teachers  in Title 1 ( predominately African American) Schools, in order to circumvent the Alabama Education Association, with a 1.9 million dollar no bid contract.

Dr. Dawson would never have allowed the students (black) in his district be mandated to wear uniforms while other students (white) were not.

Dr. Dawson would never have allowed the  board to close the Fletcher Seldon Alternative school and outsource the program to a heavy-handed, private, drug and behavioral treatment center, with no accountability,  or oversight, where parents don't even know about the program until it's too late to protest.  Nor, are they aware their students get no legal representation.

Dr. Dawson never would have allowed Teachers, Administrators, and most importantly, the public, to be harassed  and  intimidated at public board meetings, then hide behind the letter of the law.  When it's convenient that is.

Dr. Dawson would never have allowed the board to replace textbooks with laptop computers without making sure all students had access to the Internet, their online safety protected,  and without weighing the possible negative effects, because saving money is more important all of a sudden.

The School Board named an old school with 300 black students after Dr. Dawson, but they should have renamed the new Lee High School  after him.  But no, they would rather keep the name of  the Confederate General who fought against everything Dr. Dawson stood for.

RIP Dr. Dawson, you are missed more than you will ever  know.

Today's Must Reads
A Ripple in the Water

Who Defines "the Civil Rights Issue of Our Time?

If you can read this, thank a Public School Teacher

  "The future of the world is in my classroom today, a future with the potential for good or bad... Several future presidents are learning from me today; so are the great writers of the next decades, and so are all the so-called ordinary people who will make the decisions in a democracy. I must never forget these same young people could be the thieves and murderers of the future. Only a teacher? Thank God I have a calling to the greatest profession of all! I must be vigilant every day, lest I lose one fragile opportunity to improve tomorrow."
--Ivan Welton Fitzwater

Teaching is the most noble profession on earth, and the most undervalued in the United States of America.  During National Teacher Appreciation Week many public school teachers find themselves under attack and being treated like they are the enemy of the state.  Some might say the attack on public school teachers is sexist, since the majority of teachers are women.

Although the majority of public school teachers are white women, the majority of public school students are black/brown/poor.  The real problem in education aren't the teachers, unions, or a lack of testing and parental involvement, it's the poverty.

In my local system, trained, certified public school teachers are being replaced by untrained, non certified teachers, in predominately African American Schools.  Why?

 Using the logic of the Huntsville City Board of Education, University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban should only use his youngest, most inexperienced players when his team plays a Top Ten opponent.
 Anyone who pays attention to education knows that the most persistently poor-performing schools are those in impoverished neighborhoods.  For example, there are nine schools in the Huntsville system where more than 90 percent of students receive free-reduced lunches.  According to an analysis by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, none of these schools have reading and math scores where all grades (three through eight) are equal to or above state average.
By comparison, of the five schools where all grades are above state average, free-reduced lunches range from 4 to 25 percent.
But in spite of this, the Board of Education plans to hire 110 Teach for America teachers over the next three years and put them in schools in poor neighborhoods.  These are recent college graduates, most of whom got degrees in something other than education and will receive a five-week crash course in how to teach before being sent off to work in the city’s most challenging schools.
I don’t believe this is the way Coach Saban thinks. 

It's not the way Coach Saban thinks, Coach Saban want to WIN.  That's why we pay him the big bucks.  Maybe if we funded public schools like we fund our state college football programs our public school students could be winners too.  It pays to be a State University Football coach in Alabama.  Public School Teachers, not so much.

If you want to appreciate public school teachers, Occupy your local School Board meetings.  We elect Public School Boards who hire/fire the Superintendents, who hire/fire the Principals, who hire/fire the teachers, and grant tenure.

Educators are the Hope of the Republic.  The Only Hope.

Two of Today's Must Reads are from my tenure at Left in Alabama before I got the boot for being uppity, be sure and read the comments.

Please, Black Parents Get Involved

Teaching vs Educating

Occupy Education

RedEye Around AmeriBama

What's that you say? There are poor people in Birmingham, Alabama?  I am shocked!  Shocked I tell you.  Not.

We've got to pray just to make it today... the Freedom from Religion Foundation is challenging the Huntsville City Council's prayer tradition.  Now we wait and see if elected city leaders waste public money to fight the challenge.

Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D CD7) introduced a bi-partisan resolution commemorating the Historic Selma to Montgomery Marches of 1965.   Psst Terri...bi-partisan my Donkey...the locals are getting the fire hoses and the dogs ready.

Those silly, white, republican men believe the Alabama "cooch jabbin act of 2012" actually   protects life and respects women."  So, who is going to protect and respect life and women from republican men?

A federal judges has issued a restraining order against the republican, Alabama Secretary of State regarding absentee ballots.  And they claim they are worried about black voter fraud?  Thanks to the Help America Vote Act, Morgan County is getting i-pads for voting precincts.  Yep, that ought to help Americans vote.  Snark


Attention Huntsville City School Board of Mis-education...you might want to rethink that "Wilderness Program"  as an Alternative School Policy.  Here is what I see happening...assigning non certified  TFA teachers to Title 1 (predominately black) schools without training in class room management or Federal  Law= a lot of black/brown/poor/special education students sent off to God knows where.


RIP Andrew Breitbart 

Welcome to my Blog Roll Uppity Negro Network

Gov Bentley and Company "Feeding the cradle-to-prison pipeline"

Sweet Home Alabama Governor Bentley and his red, republican controlled legislature propose giving more power to local school boards allowing  them the opportunity to implement innovative strategies currently restricted by state law.   In other words, allowing local school boards to give state law the middle finger.

I thought school boards were elected by the people to make policy for the school district and it's powers and duties are set by state law?

Sorry, but I don't want my local school board to have the opportunity to implement innovative strategies currently restricted by state law.  There are so many, many things wrong with  my local school board it's not funny.   I can just imagine the innovative strategies they will implement.

Today's Must Reads

Pushing Kids Out

Blacks are disciplined at far higher rates than other students

The Cradle to Prison Pipeline:  America's New Apartheid

Teach for America Explained